by Pauletta Hansel
Quicksand, Bulan, Neon, Hiner, Martin, Fisty.
This is our place in Hueysville.
This was my Mother’s house before she passed.
Samantha’s sister’s house is by that blue bridge.
Anyone know anything about Fugate’s Fork Road?
Stringtown, Ajax, Isom, Pinetop, Dwarf.
This is my cousin’s house.
My Mamaw’s house is on the left.
That bridge is about 8 feet above
where the creek’s supposed to be.
Isn't this Mary's house?
This is the mouth of our hollow,
the red arrow was our road in.
Nix Branch, Jakes Branch, Trot.
If you zoom in to where the white car hood is,
my home is there.
Rowdy, Wayland, Noble’s Landing Cowan Creek.
OMG that is Pigeon Roost.
Y’all this is my hometown.
This little tree, and God, kept us alive this morning.
My daughter swam with her dog to a neighboring rooftop.
Caney, Possum, Ary, Lost Creek, Hardburly, Trace.
Dad and my nephew are neck deep
they need help
please.
Are you all safe??
We lost the farm animals and 5 cats.
Lost my chainsaws so I can't even work.
Hindman, Buckhorn, Chavis.
You need to understand the nature of the topography.
Add to that strip mining, climate change, political neglect.
Krypton, Garrett, over toward Pound.
Does anyone know about Kite, KY?
We have lost everything
again.
We have warm beds, clothes, and toiletries available.
We have hot showers and food.
Anyone trapped in downtown Whitesburg is welcome to come.
We need help and I'm willing to help anyone
in the same shape we are.
Your prayers are good
but we need to get federal and state assistance ASAP.
Don’t cry for Appalachia, work for change however you can!
Let's use the internet to tell our story.
Thank you for posting.
Much love and many blessings to you all
from what's left.
Poet Pauletta Hansel writes “This poem is made up of direct quotes from posts about the devastating flooding in eastern Kentucky. Appalachia tends to hit the news briefly, if at all, during disasters, and is soon forgotten. If you haven’t heard of any of these places, you’d better get on Facebook quick, before we disappear again. Want to help? Go to Appalshop.”